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MBAThe
PersonalMastering Business Without Spending a Fortune
Business schools don’t have a monopoly on worldly wisdom. If you
care more about increasing your effectiveness at work than a
diploma and a few lines on your resume, the Personal MBA is for
you.
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What is the Personal MBa?
“You wasted $150,000 on an education you coulda got for a buck
fifty in late charges at the public library.” — Will Hunting
(played by Matt Damon), GoodWillHunting
The Personal MBA (PMBA) is an experiment in educational
entrepreneurism. This manifesto will show you how to substantially
increase your knowledge of business on your own time and with
little cost, all without setting foot inside a classroom.
The PMBA is more flexible than a traditional MBA program,
doesn’t involve going into mas-sive debt, and won’t interrupt your
income stream for two years. Just set aside some dedi-cated reading
time, pick up a good book, learn as much as you can, and go out and
make great things happen.
it’s all aBout the Books
“ If I read a book that cost me $20 and I get one good idea,
I’ve gotten one of the greatest bargains of all time.” — Tom
Peters
“ The difference between where you are today and where you’ll be
five years from now will be found in the quality of books you’ve
read.” — Jim Rohn
At the core of the PMBA is a list of 42 books and periodicals.
By investing time and effort in using these resources, you will
progressively develop a greater understanding of business and
increase your effectiveness at work. Even if you only read a few,
you’ll get a substantial return on your investment.
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thoughts on traditional MBa PrograMs
“ Whatever be the qualifications of your tutors, your
improvement must chiefly depend on yourselves. They cannot think or
labor for you, they can only put you in the best way of thinking
and laboring for yourselves. If therefore you get knowledge you
must acquire it by your own industry. You must form all conclusions
and all maxims for yourselves, from premises and data collected and
considered by yourself. And it is the great object of [our
educational institutions] to remove every bias the mind may be
under, and to give the greatest scope for true freedom of
thinking.” — Joseph Priestly, Dedication of New College, London,
1794.
The debate concerning the value of traditional MBA programs is
long and involved, and this manifesto won’t close the issue.a For
the sake of brevity, here’s a short Q&A on the pros and cons of
business school:
‡ Can a traditional MBA program help you? Yes. You’ll meet a lot
of great people and get acquainted with a few professors and
corporate HR recruiters who can help you land a new job. You will
also sink very deep into debt. If you decide to enroll in a
full-time program, the op-portunity cost of lost wages and future
investable savings is huge.b
‡ Will a traditional MBA teach you anything you can’t learn by
yourself? Probably not. Classroom discussion can be beneficial, but
there’s nothing presented that you can’t learn by studying a good
book on the subject.
‡ Is a traditional MBA worth the time and money? Sorry — there’s
no universal answer. If you’re looking to go into advanced
corporate accounting, finance, quantitative analysis, commercial
real estate, consulting, venture capital, or investment banking, an
MBA or MS in a
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business-related field may be expected or required. In those
cases, caveat emptor: once you decide to attend, the only certainty
is that your bank account will be significantly smaller.
If you decide not to go to business school, the Personal MBA is
a low cost way to educate yourself about business. (Even business
school graduates can benefit greatly from reading these books.)
Before we get to the list, however, allow me to set a few
reasonable expecta-tions about the PMBA.
the Personal MBa is not:
‡ A stand-alone venture. You can’t learn about business solely
from books — you have to be willing to go out and learn by doing.
Whether you’re working full-time for a company or building your own
business, a full 2/3 of your learning will be a direct result of
your day-to-day work experiences, which provide the necessary
context for understanding what you read.
‡ A mindless replica of a traditional MBA program. The PMBA was
created to expose you to a core set of advanced business concepts
quickly and effectively. By design, it does not include anything
and everything you might come across in business school. If you’re
looking for a detailed analysis of the Black-Scholes option pricing
model and its relationship to the volatility surfaces of certain
financial derivatives, you’re going to be very disappointed.
‡ An impersonal curriculum. You’ll find more material about
learning who you are, what you’re good at, and how you can work
more effectively with other people in the PMBA than you will in a
standard business school curriculum. There’s a reason why these
topics are included here: they are skills that will really help you
in your life and work.
‡ An infallible educational revelation. It’s perfectly okay if
you disagree with one of the selec-tions or think that a critical
book has been overlooked. Feel free to make substitutions as
you
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deem necessary. If you’re skeptical about the value of a title
you haven’t read yet, I encourage you to borrow the book from your
local library and give it a try. If you’re of the same opinion
after reading a few chapters, put it down and read something else!
(Life is short.)
‡ Easy. Working your way through this list will take time,
energy, and persistence. There is no substitute for hard work and
dedication.
the selection criteria
There is no shortage of good books about business, which made
this list very difficult to compile. Here are the five criteria
used to select the resources featured in this manifesto:
q Valuable Content. Does the book contain a lot of useful,
practical information about how business works, how you can add
value, and why the material in the book is important?
w Acceptable Time Commitment. Is the book a good educational
value for the amount of time invested? Can you get the key points
of each book in a few hours?
e Self-Learning Friendly. Is this book designed to keep the
reader’s mind engaged? Does the author present the material
effectively and make the learning process enjoyable?
r Reference Value. Will this book be a valuable resource to turn
to when you need information on a specific topic? How does the book
re-read? Is it a book worth keeping for many years?
t Comprehensive Set of Resources. Does this list cover a broad
range of advanced business concepts effectively and efficiently? Is
completing the list a realistic goal?
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Each recommendation is based on my own reading, many hours of
research and evaluation, and the suggestions and recommendations of
a large group of volunteers.
a quick note on organization
In this manifesto, books are grouped loosely by topic; they are
not arranged in a specific reading order or category structure. I
recommend starting with the books you find most interesting.
Let’s begin!
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Master yourself
2‰ Mastery by George Leonard
Mastery is not a business book — it’s a book about the learning
process and what you can expect from a project like the Personal
MBA. Leonard explains that the mastery of any skill is a life-long
process involving a series of plateaus, punctuated by short spurts
of visible growth. True mastery is about embracing the plateau and
learning to love practice for its own sake. It’s a short, inspiring
read, and it’s the perfect book for starting down the path of
becoming a self-taught “master of business.”
2‰ now, discover your strengths by Marcus Buckingham &
Donald O. Clifton
According to Buckingham and Clifton, you are at your most
effective when you’re capitalizing on your strengths instead of
spending time and effort trying to improve your weaknesses. Now,
Discover Your Strengths is the summation of a wide body of research
conducted by the Gallup Organization on the subject of human
talent. Gallup has identified 34 statistically-significant areas
where people naturally tend to exhibit consistent, near flawless
performance. Each copy comes with an access code for Gallup’s
StrengthsFinder assessment, an online tool that helps you identify
and understand your own unique combination of strengths. (Be sure
to get a new copy in order to get access to the assessment: used or
library copies probably won’t work.)
In addition to explaining how we develop our individual talents,
this book has a lot to say about diversity and why it is so
important in business. Because everyone has a different combination
of strengths, we all approach the world from a slightly different
perspective. By working with people who possess a wide variety of
skills and backgrounds, our chances of success increase.
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Manage your life and Work
2‰ getting things done by David Allen
Simply put, Getting Things Done is the best book on day-to-day,
functional time manage-ment that has ever been written. (That is
not an exaggeration.) Allen takes a “bottom up” approach to
managing your life, focusing on helping you create a system of
organization your mind learns to trust over time. By capturing
everything floating around in your head, honing in on the physical
actions you need to do, and creating a system where your next
ac-tions are easily stored and referenced, you’ll be free to focus
on completing the tasks at hand and will experience less
stress.
2‰ the 7 habits of highly effective People by Stephen Covey
In contrast to Getting Things Done, Covey’s The 7 Habits of
Highly Effective People takes a “top down” approach to managing
your life. What do you really want for yourself? What is important
to you? When you have considered questions like these, you’ll have
a better under-standing of how to identify non-productive uses of
time and create opportunities to accom-plish the things that are
really important to you.
Covey also discusses working with others productively. By
learning simple principles like looking for win-win situations,
seeking to fully understand the perspectives of the people with
whom you’re working, and identifying new ways to cooperate, you’ll
be better equipped to deal with the complexities of working with
others.
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learn the fundaMentals
Ram Charan is the patient coach of the business world,
constantly reminding readers to learn the fundamentals of the
profession.
2‰ What the ceo Wants you to know by Ram Charan
In What the CEO Wants You to Know, Charan explains how to
understand companies through the simple, fundamental concepts that
are at the core of every business: cash, margin, profit, return on
assets, velocity, growth, valuation, customers, employees, and
shareholders. Along the way, he explains how these concepts
interact in both large and small companies, and how you can improve
your business by understanding the basics and focusing on improving
your execution of the fundamentals.
2‰ Profitable growth is everyone’s Business by Ram Charan
Profitable Growth Is Everyone’s Business is a deeper look at how
businesses grow and how they can stumble if they attempt to grow in
the wrong way. Healthy businesses grow organi-cally by reinvesting
profits, focusing on day-to-day execution, and improving the core
of the business over time. All employees (at every level of the
organization) need to understand how the business operates and what
the company is working to achieve. By focusing on the things that
make the business successful, Charan argues that companies can
quickly adapt to changes in the market and pursue continual and
sustainable growth for long periods of time.
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strategic thinking
2‰ on competition by Michael Porter
Michael Porter has been a world-renowned expert on corporate
strategy for decades, and his articles are assigned to students in
business schools around the world. His “five forces” model of
corporate competition provides an intuitive way to analyze the
attractiveness of any indus-try. By paying particular attention to
the power of suppliers and customers, the threats of new entry and
substitutes, and the level of internal rivalry in the industry, it
is possible to develop strategies that create a defensible
competitive position for your firm. On Competition is a compilation
of eleven of Porter’s Harvard Business Review articles, two
previously unpublished papers on health care and capital
investment, and a comprehensive introduction to his work.
2‰ Blue ocean strategy by W. Chan Kim, Renee Mauborgne
The thesis of Blue Ocean Strategy is simple: why compete with
other firms if you don’t have to?
In contrast to Porter’s work, W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne
advocate a different ap-proach to strategy: try to create new
industries that change the competitive landscape com-pletely. By
focusing your resources on creating uncontested market space (a
“Blue Ocean”), you’re working to make your firm the industry leader
while simultaneously making your current competition irrelevant.
There’s no sense in operating in competitive war-zones (“Red
Oceans”) if you have a choice.
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the only thing constant is change
2‰ seeing What’s next by Clayton M. Christensen, Erik A. Roth,
Scott D. Anthony
Clayton Christensen is famous for developing theories of why
firms rise and fall in The Innovator’s Dilemma and The Innovator’s
Solution. Seeing What’s Next is a comprehensive introduction to the
ideas presented in both books, with a smattering of business
history thrown in for good measure.
This book attempts to answer the question: “How will innovation
change an industry, and what impact will this have on the firms I
care about?” By building on a framework of three core theories of
innovation, the authors develop a three-part process of predicting
industry change: (1) identifying signals of change; (2) analyzing
competitive battles; and (3) under-standing strategic choices.
Predicting the future is notoriously difficult, but the authors
provide an approachable model for making the best decisions you can
with the information you have at your disposal.
2‰ re-imagine! by Tom Peters
Tom Peters is the rock star of business commentary for a reason:
he’s loud, opinionated, and more vocally passionate about business
than anyone on Earth. The main idea of this book is written in big,
bold, red letters across the back cover: “It is the foremost task —
and responsibility — of our generation to re-imagine our
enterprises and institutions, public and private.” You’ll find
thoughts and ideas on almost anything you can think of: leadership,
management, human talent, design, corporate systems, innovation,
technology, R&D, diver-sity, risk-taking, decision-making, and
societal trends. Reading this book is an informative, inspirational
invitation to go out and make great things happen.
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Masters of ManageMent
2‰ the essential drucker by Peter Drucker
No advanced study of business would be complete without Peter
Drucker, the undisputed father of modern management theory. The
Essential Drucker is a compilation of twenty-six of Drucker’s best
articles, spanning six decades of observation and research. In this
volume, Drucker discusses managing knowledge workers, making good
decisions, hiring the right people, starting new ventures, building
self-discipline, encouraging innovation, and predict-ing the future
of work and society.
2‰ first, Break all the rules by Marcus Buckingham & Curt
Coffman
Based on in-depth interviews of 80,000 managers in 400 companies
by the Gallup Organization, Buckingham and Coffman argue that the
world’s best managers break virtu-ally every conventional “rule” of
management practice. They select employees for talent, not
experience, intelligence, or determination. They define the right
outcomes for people, not the right steps. They focus on developing
employee strengths, not eradicating weaknesses. And they find the
right fit for employees in the organization instead of relentlessly
promoting people up to their level of incompetence. This book will
help you examine what you believe about effective management and
encourage you to think of ways to set people up for success in your
organization from the beginning.
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the finest Minds in Business
Warren Buffett, master investor and second-wealthiest person in
the world, is a well-known figure. Far less is written about
Buffett’s long-time business partner, Charlie Munger. Both
individuals are well worth studying — together, they manage
Berkshire Hathaway, one of the most successful companies in the
world.
2‰ the essays of Warren Buffett by Warren Buffett & Lawrence
Cunningham
Buffett likes to acquire entire businesses with the intention of
owning them indefinitely, so he has some very developed ideas about
how businesses should be run. The Essays of Warren Buffett is a
collection of Mr. Buffett’s annual letters to Berkshire
shareholders, in which he educates his partners about how the
company operates, dissects his mistakes, and looks to the future.
In this text, Buffett explains how to identify good businesses:
what to look for, how to figure out how much a business is worth,
how to set up effective corporate governance, how to keep
management motivated, and how to be patient enough to reap the
benefits of long-term partnership with quality people. His advice
on personal investment is a valuable (and poten-tially lucrative)
bonus.
2‰ Poor charlie’s almanack by Charlie Munger & Peter
Kaufman
Charlie Munger is a self-taught master of critical thinking and
a voracious reader. Poor Charlie’s Almanack is part biography, part
compilation of Munger’s speeches on everything from corporate
analysis to managing non-profit organizations. By teaching himself
psychology and a wide variety of “mental models” from disciplines
like biology and statistics, Munger has mastered the art of
rational observation and decision-making. Two of his speeches, “A
Lesson in Elementary, Worldly Wisdom” and “The Psychology of Human
Misjudgment,” are educational masterpieces.
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dollars on the Books
Every business professional needs a solid working knowledge of
finance and accounting. These books are designed for self-study,
and will give you a first-rate education without putting you to
sleep.
2‰ the Mcgraw-hill 36-hour course in finance for nonfinancial
Managers, 2nd edition, by Robert A. Cooke
The thing that impresses me most about this book is how
enjoyable it is to read. Drawing on over thirty years of experience
as a CPA, Cooke knows how to explain financial concepts clearly
using non-technical language. In addition, he happens to be a
master storyteller. Instead of assaulting the reader with a
never-ending stream of formulas, Cooke uses stories and humor to
illustrate how corporate finance works and why it is important to
learn. The book is set up as a collection of twelve units, making
it ideal for self-study. The 2nd edition contains an additional
chapter on the function and role of auditors, an important subject
in the wake of corporate accounting scandals and the introduction
of Sarbanes-Oxley in the U.S.
2‰ essentials of accounting, 8th edition, by Robert Newton
Anthony and Leslie K. Pearlman
When I picked up Essentials of Accounting, I was confused. This
set of two booklets is a little over one hundred pages combined —
how could it possibly be a comprehensive accounting course? The
secret is in the design of the booklets. The first contains samples
of basic ac-counting statements: balance sheets, cash flow
statements, journal entries, etc. The second contains a
double-sided set of fill-in-the-blank worksheets that guide you
through analysis of the statements in the first book. This text
teaches you accounting by having you actually work through the
process of creating and analyzing accounting statements, a simple
and relatively enjoyable way to learn a sometimes confusing
subject.
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nuMBers and negotiations
2‰ how to read a financial report by John A. Tracy
Since finance and accounting are such important and challenging
parts of business, the bet-ter we understand them, the better off
we’ll be. How to Read a Financial Report is a concise, well-written
guide to navigating the income statement, balance sheet, and cash
flow state-ment. Tracy is careful to explain how each statement is
developed, how the statements relate to each other, and what each
report tells you about the health of the business in question.
After reading this book, you’ll be better equipped to understand
the financial reports of any company, including your own.
2‰ getting to yes by Roger Fisher, William Ury, and Bruce
Patton
Negotiation is a part of everyday life. Considered a seminal
text in “principled negotia-tion,” Getting to Yes focuses on
teaching readers how to work with the people around them.
Negotiation is all about creating solutions to problems that
benefit everyone in some way, then convincing your negotiation
partner to accept a proposed course of action. By separat-ing the
people from the problem, focusing on interests instead of
positions, inventing op-tions for mutual gain, insisting on using
objective criteria, and identifying the best alternative to a
negotiated agreement (BATNA), you’ll be in a better position to get
what you want while maintaining a positive relationship with your
negotiation partner. Don’t expect to learn much about Trump-style
power negotiation, however — this text focuses on making everyone
involved better off, not bullying your opponents into submission.
(The authors include tips for fending off win-lose negotiators with
bad haircuts as well.)
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oPerational effectiveness
2‰ the goal: a Process of ongoing improvement by Eliyahu
Goldratt & Jeff Cox
The Goal is not a traditional business book: it’s a novel about
a plant manager whose factory is on the brink of being closed.
Through the character of Alex Rogo, Goldratt and Cox pro-gressively
teach you about operations management, systems design, critical
thinking, mana-gerial decision-making, and the inherently human
nature of business. Best of all, the story is engaging and
memorable, which helps to reinforce the lessons presented in the
book. Who knew running a factory could be so captivating?
2‰ lean thinking by James Womack & Daniel Jones
Lean Thinking is an in-depth look at the core principles behind
the Toyota Production System, one of the most efficient
manufacturing operations in the world. By understanding value from
the customer’s perspective, completing a “value stream” analysis of
current op-erations, eliminating wasteful activities, building
flexibility into the line, implementing just-in-time operations,
and relentlessly pursuing operational perfection, the authors
present a clear overview of one of the most successful
manufacturing innovations in recent history.
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forM and function
2‰ the substance of style by Virginia Postrel
Ever wonder why people are willing to pay $6.00 for a designer
toilet brush when the plain old $1.99 special accomplishes the same
goal? Why Apple’s iPod is so popular? Why some people are slaves to
the fashion industry? It has to do with aesthetics: all things
being equal, people will consistently choose products and services
that please their individual sense of style.
Businesses all over the world are beginning to pay attention to
design for a simple reason: good design has real economic value. In
The Substance of Style, Postrel argues that aesthetic value is
becoming an increasingly important differentiator in a world where
product function and quality are consistently high.
2‰ the design of everyday things by Donald A. Norman
This book is a must-read for anyone involved in designing a
product. The Design of Everyday Things describes how designers can
successfully create products that re-ally meet the needs of the end
user, which is harder in practice than it sounds. Using a wide
variety of real-world examples, Norman presents a broad
introduction to the critical importance of design, how to notice
good and bad design in the world around you, and how to use what
you know about everyday life to create products and ser-vices
people enjoy using.
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Project ManageMent and Marketing
These two books have something in common: each of the authors
spent eight or more years working at Microsoft, and they have a
great deal of first-hand experience to share.
2‰ the art of Project Management by Scott Berkun
Scott Berkun spent ten years working on complex projects like
Internet Explorer, MSN, and Windows, and now does project
management consulting full-time. Skipping the complicated jargon
and convoluted methodologies that characterize most project
management books, The Art of Project Management is full of
practical guidelines and tips for keeping your proj-ects moving
forward and keeping yourself sane. Berkun has a knack for breaking
complex subjects down to the critical essentials, which makes this
book approachable and easy to understand. While the vast majority
of examples come from the IT industry, the lessons presented in
this book are universal to all projects and will be easily grasped
by non-techni-cal readers.
2‰ the Marketing Playbook by John Zagula & Richard Tong
John Zagula and Richard Tong spent their time at Microsoft
leading the marketing campaigns for Windows, Office, and
BackOffice. According to the authors, every marketing campaign will
come down to choosing one of five distinct strategies, regardless
of what product or service you’re offering or the size of your
firm. Zagula and Tong teach you how to analyze your ca-pabilities
and your competition, develop a customized marketing playbook for
your company, and then execute it effectively. If you’re interested
in marketing or developing business plans, The Marketing Playbook
should be one of the first books you read.
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do your oWn thing
2‰ the art of the start by Guy Kawasaki
Focusing primarily on the venture capital approach to
entrepreneurship, Kawasaki’s “time-tested, battle-hardened guide
for anyone starting anything” is full of sound advice and useful
tips for creating a startup. The Art of the Start covers topics
like positioning your new company in the market, pitching to
potential investors, writing business plans, bootstrap-ping,
recruiting employees, raising capital, partnering with other firms,
branding, and selling. Kawasaki is a strong advocate of the
straightforward approach to business: keep it simple, keep it
honest, and keep it short.
2‰ the Bootstrapper’s Bible by Seth Godin
The Bootstrapper’s Bible was created for people interested in
starting a business with little or no money. Covering everything
from business models to simple planning and bookkeeping, Godin does
a masterful job of explaining how entrepreneurs and freelancers can
take advan-tage of their small size to accomplish big things.
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sPeak your Mind
2‰ on Writing Well by William Zinsser
“Managersateverylevelareprisonersofthenotionthatasimplestylereflectsasimplemind.
Actually,asimplestyleistheresultofhardworkandhardthinking;amuddledstylereflectsa
muddledthinkerorapersontooarrogant,ortoodumb,ortoolazytoorganizehisthoughts.
Rememberthatwhatyouwriteisoftentheonlychanceyou’llgettopresentyourselftosomeone
whosebusinessormoneyorgoodwillyouneed.Ifwhatyouwriteisornate,orpompous,orfuzzy,
that’showyou’llbeperceived.Thereaderhasnootherchoice.”
Good writing skills are essential. On Writing Well focuses on
simplicity and clarity, the hall-marks of an effective writer. With
a dedicated chapter on writing for business, you’ll quickly learn
that big words, complicated sentences, and jargon decrease your
ability to communi-cate your thoughts to the people reading your
work.
2‰ flawless consulting by Peter Block
Flawless Consulting will teach you how to get things done as an
internal or external consul-tant. According to Block, “The task of
the consultant is increasingly to build the capacity of clients to
make their own assessments and answer their own questions.” With
practical tips on everything from building authentic relationships
to making recommendations, this book is referred to as “the
consultant’s bible” for many good reasons.
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the delicate art of huMan relations
2‰ how to Win friends and influence People by Dale Carnegie
It has been said that Dale Carnegie knew more about human nature
than anyone before or since. After reading this book, I’m inclined
to agree.
Based on the core idea that people have a fundamental
psychological need to feel important, Carnegie details “three
fundamental techniques for handling people, six ways to make people
like you, twelve ways to win people to your way of thinking, and
nine ways to change people without arousing resentment.” Many of
Carnegie’s tips on working with people seem to be common sense, but
beneath all of the stories and anecdotes is a simple, valuable
lesson: if you choose to be genuinely interested in the people you
work with and you let them know it, they will always be happy to
work with you.
2‰ crucial conversations by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron
McMillan, and Al Switzler
Life is full of difficult situations that require not-so-fun
conversations with the people around us, both at home and at work.
Avoiding the issue doesn’t solve anything — you have to be
courageous enough to have these “crucial conversations.” Major
topics include: making the situation emotionally safe for both
parties to speak, how to manage your emotions, how to discuss
sensitive issues, how to persuade others without being abrasive or
pushy, and how to work with people who are upset or angry.
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sell, sell, sell!
2‰ the little red Book of selling by Jeffrey Gitomer
“People don’t like to be sold, but they love to buy. Your job as
a master salesman is to create an atmosphere where people want to
buy.” This book is the distilled essence of Gitomer’s many years of
experience as a salesman. It’s written in a blunt, punchy,
fun-to-read style, and is focused on teaching you basic sales
principles that you can use immediately. Although the book is
small, the content is deep and varied — this is a book you’ll want
to return to many times.
2‰ influence by Robert B. Cialdini
As a social psychologist, Cialdini worked “undercover” in fields
like sales, PR, advertising, and fund-raising to discover what
makes people comply with the demands of others. Through his
research, Cialdini identified six ways that people are
unsuspectingly persuaded: reciprocity, scarcity, liking, authority,
social proof, and commitment/consistency. Knowing these natural
psychological tendencies will help you become more persuasive and
protect you from being misled in the future.
As a side note, Influence is on the recommended reading list of
Charlie Munger, who picked up some of his basic psychological
models from this book. Munger was so impressed by Cialdini’s
thorough explanation of how rational decision-making can break down
that he gave Cialdini one Class A share of Berkshire Hathaway stock
(now worth $83,000) for his “contributions to humanity.” How’s that
for a strong recommendation?
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econoMics and WorldvieWs
Business professionals can benefit from a strong understanding
of how society works. These titles will give you a solid education
in economics, politics, and international business.
2‰ economics in one lesson by Henry Hazlitt
Economics is the science of examining the causes and effects of
human actions, then study-ing the primary and secondary
consequences of those actions. In Economics in One Lesson, Hazlitt
delivers a comprehensive introduction to the basic concepts of free
market econom-ics, covering everything from widely held
misconceptions like “the broken window fallacy” (the idea that
destructive acts like war result in economic growth and progress)
to the long-term consequences of economic policies like trade
tariffs and government regulation.
2‰ the economist
The Economist rounds out the PMBA’s coverage of global studies
and international business. Written from a clear political
perspective (classical liberal), this weekly magazine covers news
from around the world with a keen eye and a sharp wit, paying equal
attention to business and political developments. Readers keeping a
close eye on expenses should be able to find current issues at
their local library or university. In addition, you can find
full-text articles in the EBESCO Business Source Premier research
database, which may be available via your local library’s
website.
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Businesses Past and Present
2‰ american Business, 1920-2000 by Thomas K. McCraw, John H.
Franklin, and A. S. Eisenstadt
This book is a quick but thorough introduction to the history of
20th century business. The authors detail the growth of McDonald’s,
Procter & Gamble, Boeing, General Motors, and Ford, as well as
the rise and fall of RCA. Additional attention is paid to women and
African Americans in business, as well as three critical economic
sectors: finance, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, and information
technology.
2‰ Brand new by Nancy F. Koehn
Brand New tells the story of six entrepreneurs who changed the
world of business: Josiah Wedgwood, Henry Heinz, Marshall Field,
Estee Lauder, Howard Schultz, and Michael Dell. By examining the
companies these innovators created alongside the business context
they operated in, Nancy Koehn presents detailed, fascinating case
studies of how these leaders developed brands and distribution
systems that took full advantage of existing social trends.
Comprehensive without being dry, this book is a very detailed look
into the lives of people who saw an opportunity in the market and
took full advantage of it.
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rules and Morals
These two books examine the legal and moral aspects of living
and working in a capitalistic system.
2‰ law 101 by Jay M. Feinman
Covering every subject a student would expect to study in their
first year at an American law school, Law 101 is a comprehensive,
easy to understand introduction to the American com-mon law system.
Subjects include constitutional law, constitutional rights, the
civil litigation process, personal injury and tort law, business
and contract law, private property, criminal law, and criminal
procedure. Along the way, Feinman references famous cases and
explains how legal principles are put into practice in daily life.
American readers will gain a deeper understanding of how the legal
system operates, while international readers will find the text a
valuable point of reference and a source of comparison to their own
legal systems.
2‰ a Primer on Business ethics by Tibor Machan & James
Chesher
Written from a classical liberal / libertarian point-of-view, A
Primer on Business Ethics is an introduction to the many sticky
issues that plague the world of business. Machan and Chesher
examine current moral and political theories and how they relate to
the day-to-day decisions of business professionals.
I like this text for two reasons. First, it approaches business
as a noble and honorable pro-fession, not a necessary evil — more
than can be said for most business ethics books I’ve reviewed.
Second, the authors frame the issues in a way likely to inspire
discussion, which is healthy for readers of all political
persuasions.
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analyze this
2‰ the 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch
In this text, Koch thoroughly examines the “80/20” or “Pareto
principle” — the idea that, in any given context, 20% of the causes
produce 80% of the effects. This inherent nonlinearity is pres-ent
in all aspects of life, and presents a great deal of opportunity
for improvement in every field. By identifying the critical 20% of
causes and focusing time and resources on optimizing them, it is
possible to realize enormous gains in productivity in relatively
short order. While the 80/20 principle is typically used for sales,
customer, or inventory analysis, Koch examines personal management
applications as well, including priority setting and work/life
balance.
2‰ Principles of statistics by M.G. Bulmer
In Principles of Statistics, Bulmer blends theory with practical
examples to introduce the reader to intermediate statistics.
Subjects include the concept of probability, random vari-ables,
probability distributions, expected values, tests of significance,
statistical inference, point estimation, regression, and
correlation.
While researching this book on Amazon.com, I came across a
particularly good review by Duwayne Anderson that summarizes why
this book is part of the PMBA: “I have six books on statistics in
my personal library. All of them are bigger than Bulmer’s book, but
none of them have been read as many times, and none are as
tattered, marked up, and cross-referenced. Simply put, Bulmer’s
book is the most useful and complete book on basic statistics that
I have. It’s a nice package in a reasonably sized book with all the
most important stuff for dealing with basic statistical problems
that many engineers are likely to encounter in a day’s work.”
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voices of exPerience
2‰ the little Book of Business Wisdom by Peter Krass
(Editor)
The Little Book of Business Wisdom is a gem of a book. Peter
Krass has compiled 50 essays written by some of the best minds in
business, past and present. Learn directly from profes-sionals like
Lee Iacocca, Bill Gates, Jack Welch, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew
Carnegie, Henry Ford, Lillian Vernon, Charles Schwab, Mary Kay Ash,
Sam Walton, B.C. Forbes, and Benjamin Franklin. Chances are you’ll
think about business a little differently after hearing from these
legends in their own words.
2‰ swanson’s unwritten rules of Management by Bill Swanson
Bill Swanson is the CEO of Raytheon, a major US aerospace
contractor. Developed over the course of several decades, Swanson’s
Unwritten Rules of Management were first used in 2003 to pass along
a little practical advice to 300 of Raytheon’s senior managers.
Over time, cop-ies of the spiral-bound book traveled to managers in
other industries, eventually reaching the hands of Warren Buffett.
Buffett was so impressed that he sent copies to the managers of all
of his businesses, calling it “one of the best books I’ve seen.”
You can read excerpts of Swanson’s Rules in this Business 2.0
article, or request a free copy by visiting Raytheon’s website.
****
that’s the list: 42 resources that will help you learn about
business on your own time. I hope you find them informative,
enlightening, and useful.
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join the conversation!
While reading books is a wonderful way to learn, there’s no
replacement for a good conver-sation with a diverse group of
business-savvy people. Fortunately, you’re not alone in this
educational adventure: there are hundreds of people around the
world reading and discuss-ing these books right now, and you’re
invited to join the conversation.
PersonalMBA.com was created to give everyone involved in the
PMBA an opportunity to meet each other and discuss what we’re
learning. As of the date of this publication, we have over 400
members in 22 countriesc committed to reading and discussing these
books together. We’re the largest peer-produced business education
project in the world, and our member-ship is growing rapidly.
We started our first reading selection (Scott Berkun’s The Art
of Project Management) in August 2005. Scott has been stopping by
to answer our group’s questions and help our members learn how to
manage their projects more effectively. It’s been a great learning
ex-perience, and we’re actively inviting the authors of the other
books on this list to join the fun.
In addition, businesses are beginning to use the PMBA as a way
to educate employees with-out the huge cost of sending people off
to school. XO Communications is the first corpora-tion to discover
the PMBA — they’re integrating it into “GetSmart,” XO’s brand new
company-wide learning program.
All in all, it’s an exciting time to be an educational
entrepreneur.
If you’re interested in working through the PMBA with a group of
smart, motivated people, check out PersonalMBA.com. We’d be glad to
have you involved!
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a Big thank you!
The Personal MBA is the product of the contributions of many
people:
‡ Seth Godin for prompting the idea.
‡ The members of PersonalMBA.com, particularly our industrious
administrators: Rick Bennett, Greg Flint, and Chris Woodruff.
‡ Brendon Connelly, Tom Ehrenfeld, and Bob Gilbreath for their
timely book recommendations and constructive comments.
‡ Sam Aquillano, Jeff Bates, Rick Bennett, Brendon Connelly,
Kent Kingery, Kelsey McKelfresh, Michael Ramm, Bill Redd, and Chris
Woodruff for reviewing the rough cut.
‡ Todd Sattersten and the staff of 800-CEO-READ for bringing
this manifesto to you.
To everyone who has been involved in this project, my heartfelt
thanks.
Happy reading!
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endnotes
A Business 2.0 published a great article about the many costs
and benefits of MBA programs in 2002, and you can find any number
of blogs that continue the discussion today. Christian Schraga, a
2002 graduate of Wharton’s MBA program, has an excellent summary of
the truths and half-truths of getting an MBA:
Inconclusion,mybeen-there-done-thatexperiencehastaughtmethatatopMBAprogramprovidessomebenefits,butatasteepprice.Ifyouarecurrentlyconsideringattendingafull-timeprogram,pleasestoptoaskyourselfwhetherornotyouarewillingtotaketherisk.Businessschoolisabigrisk.Shouldyouchoosetoenroll,theonlycertaintyisthatyouwillshelloutabout$125,000.Suchafigurecorrelatestoa$1,500/monthnon-deductibleloanrepaymentandaten-yearperiodoftimeinwhichyouwillnotbeabletosavearedcent.Ifyouthinkthatthispaymentisworthittoearnthepedigree,thefraternity,thetwoyearsoff,andashotatthebigbucks,thentheMBAisrightforyou.Ifnot,pleasedosomethingelse.
B For the financially inclined, Christian Schraga estimates that
the ten year NPV of a top MBA program is (-$53,000), assuming a
base salary of $85,185, post-MBA salary of $115,000 (+35%),
marginal tax rate increases (NYC), and a discount rate of 7%.
Breakeven occurs in twelve years. You can see the full calculations
here.
Given the level of expenditure involved, a major but largely
undiscussed portion of the opportunity cost of getting an MBA is
not being able to save or invest your wages for a long period of
time. $1,500 per month invested at a compound annual growth rate of
7-10% for ten years ends up being a big chunk of money, even after
applicable taxes and commissions.
C As of the date of this publication, PMBA members hail from
Australia, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Germany,
India, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Serbia
and Montenegro, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, Tanzania, the US,
the UK, and Uzbekistan.
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info
MoRef
infoaBout the author
Josh just graduated from the University of Cincinnati College of
Business with concentrations in Business Information Systems, Real
Estate, and Philosophy. He has worked at Procter & Gamble for
three years as a part of UC’s cooperative education program, and
will be starting full-time at P&G this fall. He has no
intention of getting an MBA any time soon, but he does have a lot
of good books to read. You can find him discussing the Personal MBA
at http://www.personalmba.com, or on his blog at
http://www.joshkaufman.net.
doWnload this
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in any way, though, and you may not charge for it.
navigation & user tiPs
Move around this manifesto by using your keyboard arrow keys or
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persist, it may be due to your Acrobat Reader settings. To correct
the problem (for Windows), a reader, J. Hansen, suggests going to
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Options. Check the “Display PDF in Browser” option. Then click on
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